HAPPENING 7–11 OCT 2026 | The AFFR is a must for all lovers of architecture and cinema. For over two decades, Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam has delighted its visitors with cinematic portraits, critical essays as well as hilarious reflections on city and architecture.
Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2026: the confirmed dates
AFFR has confirmed that its next edition will run from 7 to 11 October 2026. On its homepage, AFFR also describes the edition as taking place between 7 and 12 October 2026, so you should expect additional programming around the core festival days as details firm up.
What to expect in 2026
Programming details and ticket sale dates for 2026 have not yet been published. What we do know is the scale: AFFR typically curates a wide programme, with roughly 80 to 100 films, plus talks and specials that use cinema to argue about housing, heritage, climate, labour and power in the city.
Submitting a film to AFFR 2026
If you are making work about architecture, landscape, cities or the built environment, AFFR’s submission deadlines for 2026 are already listed:
- Film submissions: open until 2 May 2026, notification mid-August 2026
- Immersive media submissions: 1 January to 31 March 2026, notification May 2026
Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam 2025
The Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFFR) has confirmed that its next edition will take place from 8 to 12 October 2025. The announcement follows the conclusion of the previous edition, which drew significant attention from architecture and film enthusiasts across the city.
The 2025 edition will mark a milestone for AFFR, as the festival celebrates 25 years of exploring the intersection of architecture, urban development and cinema. Further details about the anniversary programme are expected to be announced in the coming months through AFFR’s official channels, including its website, newsletter and social media platforms.
Founded in Rotterdam, AFFR has become known for presenting films that reflect on the built environment, spatial developments and urban life. While programming details have yet to be revealed, the anniversary is expected to feature special retrospectives and curated events.
What to expect? More than 80 films, talks and specials. The full programme and general ticket sales go live on 16 September 2025. For complete details about the programme, check out the official AFFR website.
AFFR 2025 to open with architectural biopic The Great Arch
AFFR (Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam) 2025 will officially open on Wednesday 8 October with the screening of The Great Arch, a new fiction film by French director Stéphane Demoustier. The event will take place at Theater Rotterdam.
The film explores the story of Danish architect Johan Otto von Spreckelsen, whose unexpected victory in a prestigious French design competition in 1982 led to his commission to build a monumental structure at La Défense in Paris. The project was one of President François Mitterrand’s “Grands Projets” (grand projects), a series of major works launched to mark the bicentennial of the French Republic.
The screening will begin at 20:00, with the foyer opening at 19:15. The event will be followed by a gathering in the foyer of Theater Rotterdam. The film will be shown in French and Danish, with English subtitles. Entry is included in the AFFR festival pass, though other film cards, such as Cineville and LV-strippenkaart, are not accepted for this screening.
Ticket prices:
€17,00 general
€12,00 student rate (with valid student card)
About AFFR
The foundation Architecture Film Festival Rotterdam (AFFR) was founded in 2000. That year, the first architecture film festival was organized. It wasn't just the first in Rotterdam, but the first of its kind in the world. Full editions followed in 2001 and 2003. In 2007 AFFR made a fresh start and in 2009 the festival expanded considerably in both visitor numbers and breadth of programming.
An architecture film is broadly about the meaning of city and architecture. It portrays cities, buildings, and their designers; shows that architecture cannot be understood without its surroundings or explores the role the city plays in our daily lives. In which not infrequently architects and urban planners turn out to be powerless gods and their designs, once realized, acquire very different meanings and functions than anticipated.
